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6 Communication Tips for Advisors

Are you reaching out to clients effectively? Advisor communications techniques -- both online and in the real world -- are a key focus area in Pershing's second annual study of advisor success, unveiled last week during the company's Insite conference in Hollywood, Fla.
Kim Guimond Dellarocca, Pershing's global head of segment marketing and practice management, walked us through the report's recommendations for client conversations -- which, the report found, could use improvement. "It's hard to call during the touchy stuff if you don't have a rapport," she notes.
Click through to see Pershing's communications tips, or see the other success factors identified in the report here. -- Rachel F. Elson

This is particularly important online, the Pershing study notes. Take the time to discover your own online presence through searches, and then refine that presence to be more effective.

2. Reach out with the good news too.

When you communicate with clients for a range of reasons, your outreach in times of declining markets or other negative news will seem less reactionary and forced. Relationships require tending and regular contact, the report says. "We want to help advisors find more regular, consistent reasons to call clients," says Dellarocca. "It's hard to call during the touchy stuff if you don't have a rapport."

3. Capitalize on social media.

There are a number of zero or low-cost platforms that can provide you with an efficient tool for listening (research and market commentary), distribution, and engagement (interactions with clients). Use social media for two-way communication, cautions Dellarocca, who says advisors tend to focus on "pushing information out … I'm not so sure we're great at using social media as a listening tool." If you haven't started investigating these tools, this is the year to get going.

4. Don't kill yourself trying to create original content.

Part of your professionalism is your ability to discern whether information has value. "Ask yourself, 'So what?' before you post," Dellarocca says. Curate content smartly and enjoy benefits that are similar to those you might acquire by writing things yourself.

5. Don't overextend.

Make sure you can reasonably maintain any social properties you create. A few dynamic connections to clients are better than multiple stale properties.

6. Understand what clients want.

Figure out how your clients prefer to be engaged and communicate accordingly. Most investors prefer that their advisor contact them via telephone, the study finds, but 71% of clients younger than 35 would rather get an email. Have you asked your clients yet?